Appeal against sentence

If you feel the sentence passed in your case is excessive, such as when a prison sentence has been passed when a non-custodial sentence was more appropriate, or when the prison sentence is just far too long in the circumstances of the case, you can seek to reduce the sentence by appealing against sentence to a higher court.  

The appeal process differs depending on whether you were sentenced in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court.

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Appeal against conviction

Whether you have pleaded guilty or were convicted after trial, you may be able to appeal against your conviction.

The purpose of this type of appeal is to quash the conviction. If the appeal is allowed, the conviction will either be set aside or, in some cases, it can be substituted for another less serious offence (e.g. murder to manslaughter).

The appeal process differs depending on whether you were convicted in the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court.

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Appeal by way of Case Stated

Most appeals from the magistrates’ court are made to the Crown Court.

A less usual and more complicated type of appeal from the magistrates’ court is an appeal direct to the High Court, or more specifically to a specialist court within the Kings Bench Division of the High Court called the Administrative Court.

This type of appeal is known as an Appeal by way of Case Stated, meaning that an application is made to the magistrates/District judge to state a case for the opinion of the High Court on a matter of law. This type of appeals is reserved for matters of law (specifically cases where it is argued that the magistrates or District Judge were wrong in how they interpreted or applied the law, or that they acted in excess of their jurisdiction, i.e. they did not have the power to act as they did).

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